Educational Systems

Australia spends about 5 per cent of its GDP on education (and about 2.3% on defence).

Education is a State/Territory responsibility. However, although the Commonwealth has no legal powers relating to education, it may make grants to the States/Territories under agreed conditions. This provision has been used extensively for the past 50 years, and has had the practical effect of giving the Commonwealth considerable influence on educational matters.

Presently, States/Territories carry most of the responsibility for primary and secondary education, and for (tertiary) vocational education (commonly known as TAFE - technical and further education) recurrent funding. The universities are almost entirely funded by the Commonwealth.

Until recently, full secondary education followed the completion of Year 12. However, Year 13 is being introduced, mainly for students who have not achieved their Year 12 goals.

The following tables provide information on primary and secondary school enrolments.

Number of Full-Time Primary Students in all Schools by Sex, Australia, 1986-1992

Year	Number of Females	% Females of the total	Number of Males	% Males of the total	Total
1986	822,995	48.55	872,022	51.45	1,695,017 (a)
1987	821,780	48.58	869,685	51.42	1,691,465 (a)
1988	830,326	48.60	878,123	51.40	1,708,449 (a)
1989	845,122	48.61	893,303	51.39	1,738,425 (a)
1990	857,454	48.62	906,040	51.38	1,763,494
1991	868,446	48.61	918,083	51.39	1,786,529
1992	877,777	48.65	926,593	51.35	1,804,370

a) These totals exclude the special schools not identifiable as primary or secondary.

As from 1990 students attending special schools have not been identified separately and have been allocated to either primary or secondary level of education.

Source: Table 6: Number of Full-time Students by Category of School (and Non-Government Affiliation) by Level/Year of Education, Australia 1986-1992. Australia Bureau of Statistics, Schools Australia 1986-1992.

Number of full-time secondary students in all schools by sex, Australia, 1986-1992.

Year	Number of Females	% Females of the total	Number of Males	% Males of the total	Total
1986	640,834	49.55	652,390	50.45	1,293,224 (a)
1987	648,275	49.90	655,128	50.43	1,303,403 (a)
1988	645,058	49.63	654,617	50.37	1,299,675 (a)
1989	637,025	49.76	643,174	50.24	1,280,199 (a)
1990	635,691	49.73	642,472	50.27	1,278,163
1991	638,176	49.52	650,432	50.48	1,288,608
1992	639,470	49.40	655,126	50.60	1,294,596

(a) These totals exclude the special schools not identifiable as primary or secondary.

As from 1990 students attending special schools have not been identified separately and have been allocated to either primary or secondary level of education.

Source: Table 6: Number of Full-Time Students by Category of School (and Non-Government Affiliation) by Level/Year of Education, Australia 1986-1992. Australia Bureau of Statistics, Schools Australia 1986-1992.

The pupil/teacher ratios are as follows:

Student/teaching staff (full-time equivalent) ratios by level of education in all schools, Australia, 1990-1992

Year	Primary	Secondary	Total
1990	18.4	12.4	15.3
1991	18.5	12.5	15.4
1992	18.4	12.4	15.3

Source: Table 18 (page 58) Student/Teaching Staff (FTE) Ratios by Level of Education: Category of School (and Non-Government Affiliation), 1990-1992.

The number of commencing students by education sector are shown below.

The number of commencing students by school level, Australia, 1986-1992

Year	Primary school	Secondary school	TAFE	Higher education	Adult education
1986	236,011	256,037	709,960	148,677	489,580
1987	243,925	247,811	759,806	153,800	501,767
1988	252,542	241,887	766,782	168,916	523,658
1989	257,579	239,220	766,757	181,102	582,864
1990	257,077	237,375	743,368	201,440	499,533
1991	258,014	237,656	784,202	217,940	575,565
1992	257,560	238,822	815,708	210,599	686,336

The primary and secondary school figures for 1986 to 1989 excludes the students in special schools not identifiable as primary or secondary.

Source: Primary/Secondary: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Schools Australia 1990, 1991 and 1992. TAFE/Adult Education: Selected TAFE Statistics 1992 (unpublished data). Tertiary Education: Selected Higher Education Statistics 1991-1992.